Chandigarh seeks Centre’s nod on home quarantine of foreign returnees
UT adviser Manoj Parida said he was optimistic about a nod from the Centre, as people of the city are well educated and houses are large enough to follow self-isolation protocols
After several Chandigarh residents put forth the request, the UT administration is seeking permission from the Centre for home quarantining those who return from abroad.
So far, the UT administration has been putting them up in private hotels as per Centre’s guidelines. But UT adviser Manoj Parida told HT that he has asked the Centre for permission to allow home quarantine of foreign returnees in Chandigarh, since people are well educated here and houses are large enough to follow self-isolation protocols.
“If the Centre agrees, we will allow home quarantine with detail protocol,” he said.
Parida also said the Centre frames policies based on conditions across the country. Some states have opened doors to foreign returnees of all economic stratas such as plumbers, electricians etc, but isolating them in their small homes may not be advisable, he said.
“But since the situation is different in this city, we are optimistic about the Centre’s nod on this,” said Parida.
Seeking the demand, advocate Jaspreet Singh from Sector 8, who is expecting her daughter from Canada soon, said, “We are more apprehensive about the safety of single girls and women quarantined in hotels. When we are ready to follow all protocols for home isolation of our kids, it is unfair to forcefully put them up in hotels.”
Another parent from Sector 2, Sanjiv Bindra said that before lockdown, several foreign returnees were successfully quarantined in houses here. Similar care and self isolation is possible now too, he said.
Meanwhile, the UT administration is also considering the relocation of discharged positive cases from containment zones to other safe places to prevent a relapse.
Parida said there were chances of catching the infection after being discharged. “Till the time the city’s containment zones are not free from the infection, all discharged patients from these areas may be kept in dharamshalas or community centres as part of our overall strategy to contain the virus,” he said, adding that a final decision on this would soon be taken.